Trying to:'Not fade away'
by willowzbitch
Summary: Chapter 3: Angel and the gang are about to face the end of existance, with a face to face confrontation with the seinor partners looming and champions in short supply who will they turn to for back up? post not fade away.
1. Trying to:Not fade away

**Disclaimer: I the guy who wrote this fic am not the guy (or demi god) joss whedon who created this intricate and and vast universe so dont sue! also don't wear leather shoes...its like wearing dead skin on your feet. also never wear them in a field full of cows while dancing with glee...the cows don't like it and cows are cool.**

**Chapter one: _Trying to: _'Not Fade Away'**

The dusty entrance hall of the Hyperion hotel wreaked of memories. Ghosts of lives that were once lived within seemed to haunt the very corridors of the building. The air inside was stale and heavy with dust and the walls were scarred from years of misuse and goings on that had occurred inside. it was a miracle unto itself that the building was still standing not only that it had survived the fact it had been condemned and unsafe to the public but it had seen a war or two in its time but tonight would be its last. A shrill and birdlike scream pierced the glass in the windows shattering them into millions of tiny shards before the left wall of the hotel lobby was reduced to rubble. A colossal creature crashed down through the building taking most of it with it. flailing in agony, its wings twitching and eyes dilating in pain. It lay broken on the green marble floor breathing its last breathes and howling its last howls. A broadsword embedded in the monsters skull was the cause of its demise, the owner of the sword its killer. Angel brushed of his soaking wet coat, pulled his sword from the dragons skull and spoke.

" its good to be home"

he said to himself wiping the blade clean with the tail of his shirt. The rain was now pelting in through the massive crater left by the dragon and the sound of the thunder raging outside drowned out the once musty silence of the room, which from time to time was illuminated by the strikes of lightning. Angel jumped down from the back of the beast his face bloodied and his appearance war torn as his feet connected with the floor they echoed. He didn't stop to look around there was no time for reminiscing, he had lost sight of gunn about 15 minutes ago. And hadn't seen either illyria or spike since he had scaled the surrounding building in search of a vantage point fit for slaying a dragon. He made his way to the remains of the stairs in hope of finding a way back into the ally and back towards the army of demons that were swarming his friends. He headed down into the kitchen to be greeted with yet another demon horde. Angel raised his sword and swung into the fray once more.

The sallow words sang through his mind like a bell in a silent street" happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. happy birthday dear Wesley. happy birthday to you." Wesley looked around to see his friends assembled holding a large chocolate cake swamped with tiny candles. As he looked at all the faces of his friends smiling, waiting for him. Gunn, Angel, Cordelia, Lorne and…fred. He smiled in her direction coyly. "this is…um…such a surprise" that's all he could think of to say. "you big fibber. Now blow out your candles before my arms fall off" came a sarcastic but well meant comment from cordelia. "And don't forget to close your eyes and you know make a wish" as Fred uttered those words to Wesley he stared deep into her hazel eyes, he knew what he was going to wish for…what else did he want? As he closed his eyes to wish , wish hope against hope that Fred would see him as something other that an utterly sexless shoulder to cry on. For her to see him as someone fit to wear on her arm for all the world to see, as someone who would return his love threefold and never be ashamed of it. He blew out the candles and wished to a chorus of cheers from his friends and the smell of smoke filled his nostrils.

when Wesley reopened his eyes he had to close them again, he was blinded by the white static light.. he slowly opened them again taking in his surroundings. The sterile room, was giant…massive and hostile but non the less all too familiar_. the white room _he thought to himself. He slowly moved his hand down across his bloodied shirt and over the wound made by the blade of cyvus vail. The wound had been the end of him, as he touched the gash he was alerted to the fact that it was utterly painless…he was dead. he thought back to his final waking memories

"would you like me to lie to you now?"

A lie, a pretty little lie as he spent his last moments on the mortal plane

"Wesley, my Wesley"

His skin had tingled with pleasure as he let himself believe it was really her uttering his name

"Its gonna be ok, won't hurt much longer and then you'll be where I am we'll be together"

That was the most painful lie of all…where was she now? She promised she'd be here

"I love you"

Those immortal words the last thing he heard, would linger with him forever. Even though now he had to face the reality that this was all a lie.

As he snapped out of it. Wiped the blood from his hand he turned and his eyes met a familiar hazel gaze. His heart sank as the woman walked towards him. She spoke as she paced closer

" Hello lover, long time no see"

__

"Lilah?" his voice echoed in the vastness of the white room.

Illyria moved with grace snapping bones and cracking necks as if performing some ballet involving mass murder with a musical accompaniment forged from the howls and mews of her victims. She felt powerful, as she tore through them mercilessly not even breaking a sweat. _How dare they be so brave as to approach me, let alone strike out at me _she thought to herself _I am illyria ancient god king of the primordial, even in this shell I possess more power and vengeance than these followers of the wolf the ram and the hart. _And she wouldn't settle for anything less than them, the senior partners more commonly known to her the wolf, ram and hart. A foul smelling robed demon managed to land a blow stopping illyria's sway, it would the last thing it ever did. she returned the blow as it connected she grabbed one of its arms with the other hand and with one swift tug ripped it clean off before beating it around the head repeatedly with it ultimately repaying it for having the gall to touch her in the first place. The demon shrieked in pain and she left it to die in its own juices, moving on to her next victim. And she would continue to do so until this grief she was feeling for the one she knew as Wesley the only thing she had to tie her to this place, gone. So she fought and it eased the unsavoury feeling that ran rampant inside her. As she grabbed the horn of a large creature and snapped it hard until a satisfying crack was heard she was beckoned to look up by the sound of a deafening and shrill mayday call of the giant dragon. she continued to look up into the sky, the rain falling onto her face ferociously. she saw the beast careen towards the building left of the alleyway and collide with it crashing into the ground causing the earth to shake. _It is angel _she thought _he has slain the winged beast, I underestimated the half breed he is not as weak as I had first perceived _with that thought she turned and finished off the horned demon and continued her dance of destruction.

Spike had forgotten how much it hurt when you ached all over, he'd forgotten he could ache. He hadn't been in a scrap this bad since god knows when even burning up in a pillar of hellfire didn't hurt as much as this I mean it was over in seconds where as the demon hordes just kept on coming, Charlie boy had been on his last legs or well no legs to be precise he wasn't conscious its pretty hard to stay awake with multiple stab wounds. Spike had him draped over his shoulder as he tried to back down the winding alleyways surrounding the hyperion .He wasn't familiar with the place so he was having a bit of trouble finding a safe place to leave gunn. _safe place _he mused _good luck with that_ spike. he fled the armies that chased him down the back alleys of L.A. he was never one to run from a fight but another life was at stake and he wasn't about to loose another friend gunn was an alright bloke and spike would do right by him _or I bloody well could do if I could find my way out of this sodding labyrinth _as spike turned the corner at speed he was stopped dead in his tracks by a 40 foot high centurion

"and you would be the bloody minator"

spike looked down at gunn and back up at the demon stood in front of him. It roared with glee at the thought of stopping the vampire in his tracks, its lower body was composed of four hoof like thing and its shape was not entirely dissimilar to that of a horse, its upper body however was a lot more humanoid although the two great horns that jutted from its head were less than human .

"oh sod it"

spike hissed and with that flung gunn down against the wall of the alleyway.

"come on then horse boy, want a go do you?"

with that he dived forward onto the gargantuan demon screaming as he went.

Wesley continued to look on in amazement.

she questioned Wesley "You look Surprised to see me?"

He acknowledged the question by rolling his eyes. "Lilah, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to fill you in, give you the tour or at least I would be…"

she walked a little closer

" cept heres the snag…you've been a very bad boy and sweetie the senior partners don't take kindly to being toyed with"

a shot of concern flashed across Wesley's face.

" from what I hear Angel and the rest of his little misfits went all assassin and took out the circle of the black thorn…wes they don't walk away from that…you don't walk away from that"

with that she drew back a little

" so questions? Comments?"

the tone of her voice suddenly becoming lighter.

" A few, first being why the hell am I here…I should be.."

lilah interrupted his sentence

"floating around on some fluffy cloud with lil miss Texas plucking your harp strings and sipping tea? Wesley I thought you were smarter than this…your soul isn't yours..lemmi sum this up honey once your on the pay roll your never off the pay roll."

she sighed

" your immortal soul is property of Wolfram and hart You know this, I mean here I am chatting you up for the second time after you took my head clean off "

Wesley glanced down to her neck the cut still as visible and bloody as the day it was made.

" but I don't, I mean we didn't sign anything involving any of us serving the firm after we'd died".

Lilah pulled out the contract Wesley had signed before he took over wolfram and hart, at the bottom of the document was his name signed in blood.

"small prints a bitch wes, and you know all to well this contract, kind of indestructible."

she passed the contract to Wesley, and pointed out the clause on the contract. It read _should I the signer of this document do anything to jeopardise and or harm any senior members affiliated or associated with both the senior partners and the firm itself all above agreed terms and conditions are to be dissolved withstanding said event. _there it was in black and white bound on an indestructible document and signed in his own blood he was bound to the firm for eternity. Never taught to show any emotion wesley took it rather well, emotion is a sign of weakness that very saying had been drilled into him as a child. He looked back at Lilah and calmly asked

" what do they want with me?"

"thousand dollar question there wes, usually you'd be put to work in the offices down below but as I said before you don't get to cross wolfram and hart and get away with it, they'll deal with you in time but first they have problems on the mortal plane, they have to make an example of angel and the rest of them and the hellfire they are raining down up there is only the start of it. This may just be the 'apocalypse' those prophecies were talking about and guess what Angel chose his side and it's the wrong one"

Wesley replied to that as best he could

"in your opinion, maybe. ok then, if they are to kill me torture me for eternity's lock me away in some hell cell…why send you? I mean why tell me about it?"

"Wesley they may be going to torture you perpetually for aeons but to not give you the skinny on where the hell you are…what do you take them for? Monsters?"

Lilah turned to walk away

"well I gotta be going employees to greet clients to serve as always the wheel keeps on turning…for now anyways"

she walked in the direction she came in

" oh and wes, don't worry about that whole perpetual torment thing may be a while coming, as I said there dealing with things up there you just sit tight here. It was good to see you again"

she smiled, and vanished into the bleakness, leaving Wesley and his thoughts alone to simmer.

__

Illyria was surrounded by bodies…_weak _she mused. Each one of them had died bloody and screaming. she looked around at the emptiness, scoffing to herself _a pitiful display, is this the so called wraith of the wolf, ram and hart? Proof indeed that they are lesser beings. When I set about vengeance none are left standing _and true to her thoughts not a one was. She was beginning to feel that emotion again, _concern that is its name _she had not sighted her allies for some time and was beginning to feel '_concern'_ for the half breeds and the one known as Gunn. Rain still poured from the cracking skies but soothed the intense heat non the less as illyria contemplated finding her allies, they found her so to speak. Almighty footsteps began to shake the ground, then she heard the war call of spike

"Arrrghh, son of a goat"

spike was grappling with the head of the centurion and in its rampage it was trying in vain to dispose of him. Shaking its head not looking where it was going it came crashing through walls and fences into the street where illyria and her graveyard of failed opponents were. Rearing up on its hind hooves in pain it still failed to break spikes hold on its horns.

"do you require my assistance half-breed?" queried illyria.

spike trying to shout over the distress calls of the demon " Nah Blue just breaking my little pony here in, doesn't want to play though".

Ignoring what spike had just said illyria took an axe from the corpse of one of her victims and proceeded to hack at the demons hind legs, as it was still reared up it fell to the ground shattering the earth and more than most of its bones, illyria satisfied sunk the axe deep into its occipital lobe and sneered

" even this leviathan has fallen at my feet, I possess more power in this tiny shell that it did in its enormous body…".

spike attempting to clean himself up after being thrown from the demon as it fell,

"I was just about to do that" he announced as he limped over to illyria.

"you are broken"

illyria said looking spike from head to toe.

"Points for observation there luv, where's tall dark and forehead?"

illyria formed a blank look.spike rephrased

"Angel, where is he?".

"I have not seen him since he slayed the demon in the sky".

spike spluttered " he slayed the dragon? I mean talk about living the hero cliché maybe he's gone off to spend his doubloons in ye olde tavern or off rescuing some damsels or something"

the blank look returned to illyrias face

" sarcasm, never a big part of you life as an old one then?".

"Wesley informed me that this thing you call sarcasm is the lowest form of humour and is only spouted by those of very little intelligence"

spike took offence to her skit but before he could reply angel chimed in

"little intelligence huh? that's spike in a nutshell

"well his hair is this peculiar colour" illyria replied

"that much peroxide, gotta be bad for the brain cells"

"HEY!!! Can we get back to the apocalypse ?"spike interrupted their discussion.

Angel pulled himself out of the rubble that was the back wall of the hotel and up into the street. He walked over the demon bodies. To where spike and illyria stood,

" Is Gunn?.."

"he's back through there" spike gestured to the pathway of destruction caused by the centurion.

" but he's in bad shape, not sure if he'll last".

"we need to get him to a hospital, if there are any left…who knows if were the only ones the senior partners rained hell down on and their not finished with us"

"not til we're dust in the wind mate"

" so we make the most of this short reprieve before it starts to rain demons again"

"halleluiah" spike sang

The three of them looked at each other and turned to leave. The rain still beating down on them the air still burning with the humidity of hell itself. The thunder sounded once more, then all was silent, the floor beneath them began to move. It felt as though it was throbbing, moving underfoot…or so it would have appeared. Until the dead that carpeted the floor began to groan and writhe rising up once more. Spike looked at illyria "so you killed most of these" she nodded " boy are they gonna be pissed off at you". the chant of war began to sound again…the roaring screams and beating drums. more were on their way. Angel once again lifted up his sword and illyria readied herself for battle spike wiped the bloodied water from his face

"here we go again". the lightning illuminated the black street enough for the approaching armies to be backlit. just as the hordes were about to fall a silent sound sang through the air and it was quiet, the war cries were hushed the rain stopped and the demons froze in their tracks. A brighter than bright light shone, causing angel and spike to drop to their knees and shield their eyes…it was here the intervention they had been waiting for years for. illyria's face was once again blank…she had much to learn.

**A/N: And so here ends the first chapter, show your love! submit a review, and visit my work on fictionpress (look under willowzbitch...its highly entertaining for enjoying and or laughing at) oh and p.s its my first Angel fic so be gentle. **


	2. Green with vengence

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**A/N:Hey, i'm back with chapter 2. i warn you there is less action but alot more plot or my attempt at a plot any how. dont forget to review, reviews mean continuation. and also incase you missed it last time i dont own Angel.Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 2: Green with vengence**

The smell of opium was rife in her nostrils, Eve had managed to track down the demon hangout Lindsey had been sent to. Turns out it was a demon version of a gentlemen's club, she may not have had the strength of Hamilton but she matched him in intellect, she was after all (immortality withstanding) still a child of the senior partners so following Angel's amateur paper trail was easy, the hard part was coming to terms that Lindsey may be dead. As she made her way through the small china town establishment and her way downstairs the smell of blood replaced that of opium. it was so overpowering she almost threw up. Luckily she controlled it. she continued down through the back room and followed the stairs down into a basement bloodied handprints were smudged across the walls. She reached the doorway and made her way into the room trying to step over the bodies or what was left of them carefully. The walls were painted red with the blood of Lindsey's victims, he had obviously succeeded in his task. She continued to make her way further into the room, a bird sang happily in the cage that held it as if the massacre that had happened around it hadn't happened at all. then she saw him, slouched against the wall his flesh torn by bullets. she frantically ran over to Lindsey and began to call out his name

"Lindsey, Lindsey…" distress present in her voice

"sweetie please, don't do this…"

she felt her heart tear as she shook him, but the blank expression on his faced didn't change.She broke down and fell to the floor her eyes overflowing with tears. she buried her face into his chest

"don't leave me"

And there she lay for hours, holding the man she loved so much she gave up immortal life to be with him. He once called it a fairytale…now it was a tragedy . The floor was cold, and the wind and rain raged outside…but no matter how fearsome the weather was it could never compete with the tempest of overwhelming emotion that raged inside her. she traced the wounds on her lovers chest with her finger, and all the while the bird happily sang swinging back and forth inside its cage of bamboo. She knew who had done this. it was obvious. At the time she had wondered why Angel had sent Lorne with Lindsey…Lorne isn't a warrior. Lindsey would have never seen it coming. She let her eyes wander around the room they stopped over by a toppled plant and there was the weapon that had killed him. Eve lifted up Lindsey's arm …he was cold now. she got up and walked towards the gun las she bent down to pick it up she thought about what it must have been like for Lindsey to die alone to ,die at the hands of that green bastard, she felt the cold steel between her fingers and she grippedthe gun tight. Slipping it into her underwear and wiping the dry blood from her face. _Now isn't the time for tears_ that would come later. She went back towards Lindsey and leant down to kiss him on the forehead _Its time for revenge._

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The light dimmed enough so angel and spike could un shield their eyes to look around, they were no longer on the war torn street, they were nowhere. vast eternity's of nothingness surrounded them and the only thing in sight was the magnificent shape of light that hovered in front of them, radiantly warming their skin. Spike flashed a glance at angel

" well we're not in Kansas anymore to -to"

Before angel could think of a come back, the light spoke, it spoke in words that were never spoken it rang like the sound they had heard before they had been brought here. Its voice was utterly silent but indefinably understandable non the less.

" Do not speak vampire until I so desire it"

for the first time in his life, spike actually shut up when he was told to. he wasn't sure weather it was because he wished it or because the being that ordered him to do so wished it.

"you may have a soul but you should not be here non the less your body was burned and turned to ash, you walk in the world when you should be silent in your grave, And you old one"

The light shining on illyria

" you are no better, you belong to a well that has kept you for millennia and now you haunt the earth in the form of a lie. Your time passed aeons ago why do you still linger?"

arrogantly approaching the form she questioned it.

" And who are you to judge me? I ruled every dimension known to history, I walked worlds with emerald skies and descending stars I swapped them as I pleased. When I was forged the earth learned to be afraid …I imbued fear in the very hearts of those I ruled and I will not be sneered upon by one who does not even have power enough to bear solid form"

The tone in the presences voice didn't change, as calmly as before it spoke to illyria

" and why was this god king? The only reason you held sway was because the real powers left this dimension to the dirt dwellers and filth, there is no pride to come from enslaving a legion of lesser beings, once again you stayed when you should have left this plane to those who claimed it"

Both insulted and angered illyria responded

"you tell me to know my place, it is you that should known theirs you should bow at my feet"

"you will hold your tongue old one or I shall claim in in penance for your lack of respect, now silence you do not concern me…I wish to talk with your leader"

Illyria still shocked at the presence and its sheer brazenness to beckon silence upon her snapped back

"I have no leader, I follow no rule. I held time in my hands and bent it to my will, the landscapes whispered to me secrets lost and forgotten before the days of man and beast when the earth was young I know all, I have seen all and you do not have the authority to silence me you are beneath me"

And with that she gracefully leapt at the light with the full intention of beating it until it knew its place, the presence grew brighter and before illyria could even connect she was blinked out of existence.

Spike and Angel looked on In disbelief.

"do not worry, she is not dead" the being reassured "although she should be for her insolence, it is not what I desire. her death will accomplish nothing and she is an asset to you although her recent triumph on the battlefield has returned most of her arrogance she must learn her place"

Angel stepping forward

"and where exactly is that place? Where is she?"

Illyria continued her swing and flew into nothingness, she connected with the ground. As she picked herself up in disbelief at missing her target her eyes met a familiar surrounding. She stared out into the vast and shallow oceans from the small island she stood on, _Of all the places I have known, I had never desired to see this one again _illyria gazed out into the shallow waters which teamed with shrimp, they swam and frolicked blissfully for as far as the eye could see.

" she is in a place familiar to her"

the light assured.

"now we can talk without interruption Angel "

"we can talk, you know who I am so who may I ask are you?"

angel spoke with confidence

The presence introduced itself

"I am the light that has no name, I serve the one's who watch"

The ones who watch?" angel repeated " the powers that be?"

"they transcend names and form, but that is what you know them as" replied the light

"So what do they want? They have never been that hands on with us, sending us cryptic clues in the forms of visions…why send you? Why bring us here? Why now?"

"because vampire, in destroying the circle of the black thorn you have not only effectively brought on an apocalypse you have sounded the bell that could signal the end of existence, you may be far from the battle but that does not mean it is not still raging on down there, the armies of the wolf, ram and hart will wage war against the people of the world and not only will they not expect it but they will be powerless to defend., it may have not come to your attention but they are running low on champions down there…not helped by the fact you killed the battle brand, Drogyn keeper of the old ones. The well now lies unguarded and unprotected…if the old ones are reawakened there is nothing that will stop humankind from being wiped out"

"then why have you brought us here? Why aren't we fighting down there? I have a friend dying, maybe dead down there…why the hell are we here?"

both query and anger in his tone.

" the thousands down there are not your concern anymore, we have greater plans for you and your kinsmen"

Angel flashed spike a look and spike returned it, still somehow unable to speak but his eyes spoke volumes

" but do not fear, the demon hordes will not go unchallenged. The forces of evil are not the only ones who have armies at their command"

The rain beat down on the masses of demons who all in unison stood puzzled as to where their enemies had vanished to

"Magic!" screamed one of the smaller demons

"it has to be" came another raspy voice from the crowd

" that or the old one is up her tricks again, she could be here right now…in which case we'll hunt them out…scour the city leave none alive." it announced waving its staff in the air

which was met with roars and cheers from the masses of demons

"then we'll see if the vampire wants to play hide and seek when were feasting on the flesh of the ones he swore to protect"

Again the war drums started up, the screaming hordes began to march, headed for the city.

A horn sounded in the distance, bringing the army to a standstill. They began to turn to each other unsure what was happening…Footsteps pounding onto the ground hundreds of them, maybe thousands descending from out of nowhere.

The raspy voiced demon called out "raise your weapons form ranks. Looks like the vampire has returned"

But before they could even turn, they were caught in the crossfire, men and demons fully armed and charging towards them hacking with swords and firing bows enemies. the rain beat and the cries of battle echoed deep into the night.

" so you've sent in the cavalry.. Where were you say nine hours ago? Look I don't have time for this crap what about gunn? Is he alive?"

"your friend is safe, his flesh is being made anew…he is being cared for, he will be returned to you soon as will the old one"

Relief in his voice "good, now we can talk…what exactly do they want from us…?"

"in as simple a sentence as you can manage" angel added

"they want you to finish the job you started, your going to bring the wolf ,ram and hart tumbling down forever…"

"And now your going to tell me how" angel replied. the light continued and they listened…

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In breaking news, part of downtown los Angeles this evening has been reduced to rubble in what experts can only explain as shifting land masses. The area's destroyed in the continental shift were mostly sites of industrial buildings and it is reported that nobody was hurt in the incident but the authorities cannot be sure as due to the freak weather conditions its making getting down there very difficult , although important establishments such as the 20th century fox and Warner brother's lots were swallowed in the landslide representatives of the companies assure avid fans that such quality programming such as the 'simple life' and the WB's charmed will continue there season run as planned. Also swallowed in the accident were the offices of Wolfram and hart attorneys at law not only infamous around the globe for their ruthless skills in the courtroom but for the charity work many of their staff is involved with, we were unable to get a statement from the C.E.O of the L.A. branch Mr. Angel as he is in 'conference' with senior members of the company but as soon as a statement is made we will inform you. The state of California has been subject to this type of 'natural phenomena' frequently within the past twelve months, one such incident occurring in the small town of sunnydale in which the entire town was swallowed by an earthquake leaving not a brick intact. But experts stress that the case here in L.A. is nowhere near as severe but may be related to the earthquakes and meteor showers last year, we will keep you posted as soon as any new information arrives this is Susan smithe reporting for KBLA

Lorne ushered the bartender to turn down the volume on the TV and he slid his empty glass over to him.

"same again barkeep, and a little less of the watering down this time. I swear if there was any more sea in this sea breeze you'd have to rename it a North Atlantic"

No-one made a sea breeze like Ramone, Lorne would have given his right horn for one of Ramone's best. If anything could kill the headache of guilt and craziness that was throbbing in his mind that would do it. The bartender slid the glass back towards Lorne, he lifted the glass nodded at the barman and downed it in one.

"you know the drill"

he slid the glass back over once more. He drank to ease the pain, and the guilt. Guilt for killing a man he once admired, guilt for abandoning what was left of his friends. But it was the right thing to do, it wasn't his kind of fight anymore…he didn't cause apocalypses he used to try and prevent them. where he was going to go he didn't know, but that wouldn't be a problem until the bar closed. the bartender slid the glass back to Lorne.

"you know I once new a girl…" as he spoke he lifted the glass to his lips, as it touched his lips a gun shot rang out in the bar, it hit the glass causing sea breeze and bar patrons to fly everywhere. By the time he looked to where the shot had come from Lorne was on the floor by his stool staring at the figure at the door. Eve stood pistol in hand, she was wet and windswept. her clothing soaked in blood as much as it was water. And as the doors swung back out into the night behind her the lightning flashed causing her shadow to dance across the walls of the bar. She reloaded the gun and paced towards Lorne. By this point he was on his feet facing her. She stopped about halfway across the bar and began to sing

" pretty girl on every corner, sunlight turns the sky to gold"

her voice rattled with instability

As she sang Lorne's red pupils began to dilate, he didn't like what he saw. she stopped mid stanza

"hey Lorne, guess where I've been…."

"Now Eve, don't be doing anything crazy"

"oh wait that's right no need for guessing"

totally ignoring his comment

" you read me…oh well in that case"

She raised the gun

"read this"

BANG

She fired the gun once, the bullet hitting him in the chest, he fell to the floor in agony holding himself. As he writhed in pain on the floor eve mad her way over. She looked down at him.

"that was for taking the only man I ever loved away from me"

She raised the gun and shot again

BANG

The bullet hit Lorne's chest again. Causing him to spasm.

"That was because it was you who shot him, he deserved better "

"And this"

she said raising the gun to Lorne's head .

"this is to make sure you stay dead"

Her finger settled on the trigger,

Lorne used all his strength to let out one final note, it rang so loud and clear that it shattered not only the glass in the windows but anything made of glass near by. The shards rained down on the room, causing eve to backed away her hands over her ears, dropping the gun by her feet most of the customers who were still huddled under tables around the room held their ears as well. the sound was unbearable, Blood frothed at Lorne's mouth. as the note drew to a close. He pulled himself up, steadying himself on the bar. He then reached into his coat pocket pulled out his wallet and dropped in on the counter. Staggering over to eve he picked up the gun

" this isn't the way… I'll tell you what I told him, I owe you that at least"

his voice coarse and reflecting the pain he was in

"he wasn't part of the solution, he had his shot at redemption…more than once. He would have gotten bored with being part of team and reverted to form. Turned on Angel, killed him you see Angel cakes kind of a sucker for those in need. I've lost too much this year and I wasn't going to let him take anyone else away from me" Lorne turned to leave

"and what about what you have taken away from me? I have nobody " hurt and anger still present in her voice

"join the club.." and with that he left picking up his hat from the stand next to the door and vanishing into the night. leaving eve sobbing on the bar room floor, which had now been invaded by the storm that howled outside.

**A/N: You so thought i was gonna kill lorne...i thought about it but he's the best thing on angel so nah!hope you didnt mind the introduction of eve, i know she's not a hit with the fans but hey i like her. sorry if there wasnt much action or much wesley either...or spike to mention it but chapter 3 promises to be choc o action and spike with a little wes for good measure. oh and hope you all got my little snark at the Wb and Fox in the news report...(fox for cancelling firefly and the wb for doing the same to angel!) yeah i mean come on 'the simple life' quality tv...hah! well hope your going to join me for chapter 3!**


	3. Tomb Raiders

A/N: Hey all here I am for my little pro chap pep talk. First sorry its been a while, long chapter and I couldn't face the gruelling re read which is why my very good friend sarah, (Rubyservant ofeli-check out her stuff!) agreed to beta for me so props to her. And also you know the drill…angel isn't mine, don't sue!

****

Chapter 3: Tomb Raiders

Angel looked around the small basement apartment. He didn't know why but something just reminded him of his old apartment back when he first came to L.A. of course, Spike's was no comparison to his instead of masses of antique furniture and first edition books Spike had crap like this. Angel picked up one of the controls to spikes x-box, fiddled a little with it and set it back on top of the TV. This was just further back up. proving how much, not only older and wiser Angel was but how mature he was in comparison to Spike. The first mention of us needing back up in this whole apocalypse and Spike wants to run off and get Buffy involved, oh sure Angel had tried to reason both verbally and physically with Spike _But he never listens does he? _he had the crystal so he used it and then poof, gone. So now Spike was there getting Buffy involved with something that would probably kill her. Again. Reminding Angel just how utterly selfish Spike was, he doesn't understand that when you love someone you have to let them go and be happy even if that means your left brooding alone in the dark. Ok so Angel was also a little riled that he wasn't the one going to Rome to see Buffy, I mean after that fiasco with the demon head a couple of weeks ago he had kind of hoped to see Buffy. But he didn't want her involved and the second she got here he was going to _try _to get her as far away from here as possible. He glanced at his watch, he was waiting for Illyria to return, pacing up and down he waited. Gunn and Spike had both gone ahead already and time was of the essence. As if some higher power was honing in on his thoughts Illyria appeared from within a bright light and materialized into the room. Angel turned to Illyria, a look of relief on her face as she stared around her taking in her surroundings.  
  
" So where did it send you?"   
  
Angel asked getting a whiff of something unpleasant   
  
"You wreak of ……lobsters?" he guessed  
  
"Shrimp" she corrected   
  
"Vast eternity's of shrimp. Crawling, living breathing, around me….I feel violated"  
  
"And I have been" she said looking at the markings that had appeared on her arm   
  
"What is the meaning of this symbol?" Illyria demanded getting angry at her own ignorance.  
  
"Relax, it's protection. Its so we can stay on this plane undetected by the senior partners…if we get spotted hell begins to descend on us again, and we have things to do" said Angel calmly  
  
"How do you know this half-breed? Was it that creature that sent me to the shrimp world" her obvious agitation present  
  
"_Look, let me start at the beginning, so we're up on cloud nine or whatever and the light thing says…."  
  
"They want you to finish the job you started, your going to bring the wolf ,ram and hart tumbling down forever…"  
  
"And now your going to tell me how" Angel replied.   
  
"One thing at a time vampire, first thing being. You require back up and that's something we can't provide. While we have some control over the lesser planes, we hold no power in the dominion of the wolf, ram and hart…we can get you passage but our armies wont be able to follow, and when we say passage only a select few will be able to go"  
  
"Select few? How select are we talking?"  
  
"10 or less anymore and your presence there will be alerted, so choose your champions wisely. And in this task you must be swift, so I present you with these to aid your quest. Both of you hold out your hands"  
  
They did as the being requested. Into each of their palms materialized an amber stone, it glowed with an intense light and sparkled like a fallen star.  
  
"What am I supposed to do with this?" Angel asked  
  
"Speak to them and they will take you where you desire, use them to gather your forces. And remember I said be swift, when your team is assembled gather all four crystals and shatter them…they will bring you back to me"  
  
"Four? We only have 2 between us"   
  
"The human will be provided with one, and you can give this to the old one" another began to form in Angels hand.  
  
" Now before you leave is there anything else you require knowledge of?" the being questioned.  
  
"Yeah just one thing, how are we going to move freely down there undetected by the senior partners? The second our feet hit the ground, thousands more will follow in the form of yet another demon horde"   
  
"Look at your arm" the being instructed  
  
" You as well spike" it added.  
  
Angel rolled up the sleeve on his right arm revealing a marking, it was black and intricately designed but was undeniably mystical non the less. Spike took of his leather duster and there it was. The same marking on his own arm, he admired it confirming that by grinning.  
  
"These will keep you undetected long enough for your task to be fulfilled"  
  
Angel looked satisfied with that, and Spike was still admiring his new tattoo.  
  
"When you are ready, I shall return you"  
  
"We're ready" angel affirmed.   
_  
"And with those words we were teleported here."  
  
"Why are you the only on here? Spike and Gunn where are they?"  
  
"They've gone ahead" Angel said tossing one of the crystals to Illyria  
  
"This is yours"   
  
She caught it. Looking at it inquisitively before throwing it back to Angel.  
  
"I have no use for this" she told him.  
  
"Any warriors I once knew are dead and in the ground…" she made eye contact with the vampire.  
  
"Where is it you are going?" she questioned  
  
"New York" his answer brief.  
  
"I shall follow…"  
  
"Fine whatever, take my hand " he said holding it out for her to grab, she did as he requested.   
  
"What now?" Illyria queried.  
  
Lifting the crystal he held in his hand he spoke to it.  
  
" Take us to New York city"  
  
The crystal responded by glowing brighter, an amber wave of light surging over them engulfing them whole and within seconds they were gone, leaving the empty basement room to the silence.

****

The lost city, the Magumbai Rainforest, Brazil  
  
She made her way through the winding corridors of the ancient temple, she knew she was nearing its centre because she had ventured in so deep that the calls of the rain forest and screaming macaws could no longer be heard. The stone it had been built from was decades old and crumbled off with the slightest touch or even sound. Her foot came across a step, she shone her torch which was dimming by the second onto the ground and made her way down the steps which opened out into the main tomb. She had found it. The resting place of crone, buried here when the world was young and her infinite wisdom stored in an orb and buried in her tomb, so her mind and body would be together for eternity. Well not for much longer. The tomb was dark and full of dust she probably shouldn't be breathing in, and her torch was almost out of juice. Lucky I'm the worlds most efficient, walking, talking energy source then. Gwen quipped to herself as she unscrewed the torch. She slid out the batteries gave each one of them a quick jolt in the palm of her hand before placing them back inside and turning the torch on once more. She shone it around the vast room and stopped on a plinth that sat in the centre or what she guessed was the centre of the room. There It stood before her in all its grandeur, it had been locked away in this temple and forgotten to scrolls and ancient texts but here it was - proof, proof it existed. Man this had been a bitch to track down, the trip to Brazil, trekking through the rain forest, her guide getting struck by lightning and dying half way there. Not to mention that witch and her little groupie getting in her way, man she was tough to shake off, if she'd known it was going to be this much work she would have asked for double what her client was paying. She popped the torch into her mouth so she could take off her backpack, then kneeling down she took the torch out of her mouth and steadied the light over her rucksack and began to search it.. Satisfied she pulled out a scroll and opened it. Now I'm sure there was something mentioned here about a keeper or a guardian or something… she skimmed the scrolls with her eyes pity I cant really read in this stupid ass torch light putting the torch down on top of the scroll to weigh down the corner she then began passing electric charges between her finger tips, it crackled as she passed it back and forth getting brighter each time, she shaped the growing static charge into a tiny ball and held it in her hand. It was better but not much better.   
  
"Crap!" she voiced angrily. Letting the charge fizzle out into the dark.  
  
"Fiat lux! "   
  
The Latin words echoed in the darkness sharply followed by the shattering of glass, Gwen knew she wasn't alone. A flame erupted from the stone slabs on the temple floor like a firework crackling and fizzing and the entire room as if by magic was lit with a soft light making everything in the temple visible.  
  
"Better to light a candle than curse the damn darkness" came the feminine voice.  
  
The red haired female stood on the steps that opened out into the room Her figure was thin and meek looking. She had a bag draped over her shoulder and on the floor by her feet lay a shattered vial. Gwen got on her feet and turned to face the familiar woman. looking around at the lighted temple as she spoke  
  
" Nice trick" complimented Gwen.  
  
"Thanks, learned it from a woman I once knew"   
  
Gwen turned away and knelt down to read the scrolls.  
  
" So how's the brunette? Shocked her pretty bad back there" she said guiding her finger across the text.  
  
" She'll be fine, you on the other hand…won't be"   
  
"Now now not so hasty, that was her problem. To quick to threaten me, I mean the girl started on me…I only finished it" said Gwen not even turning to look the woman in the eye.  
  
"That 'girls' name is Kennedy. And this is far from finished" Willow approached her, her tone becoming far more menacing..  
  
"Kennedy huh? Pretty butch name for a girl…I like it, she's you girlfriend right?" she turned round to get an answer.  
  
Willow said nothing, but her face said it all  
  
"I knew it" satisfied she continued to read the scrolls.  
  
" Something about Wicca and all that female empowerment, goddess this, goddess that, all that crap you know just goes hand in hand with you hairy legged lesbian types"  
  
"I do not have hairy legs! You know that's a misnomer"  
  
any menace the witch had held was disappearing fast  
  
" Spouted by the same ignorant people who think witches fly around on broomsticks cackling, with the warts and the dancing naked at the moon, ok so maybe there is a little naked moon dancing but only when its full and anyways.."   
  
Gwen stopped her mid yammer   
  
" Relax, geese can't you take a joke? Or well more of an insult….I knew you were a couple because of the way you were around each other the eye contact, you know, you sparked." Gwen flashed a smile back at Willow.  
  
"That's why I didn't kill her, I'm an old romantic at heart"  
  
Willow scowled as best she could, and moved the subject away from her and Kennedy

" So that I'm guessing would be crone's orb" she said glancing over to the plinth that held the orb, black swirling mists

seemed to fluctuate within the orb like clouds forming in a storm. It held Willows gaze until Gwen spoke and broke Willows concentration.   
  
" The one and only"   
  
"Pretty" Willow smiled

" I'm surprised you didn't rush right in and take it, you seem the impatient type"Gwen turned around some what offended by the comment"Honey, I may be impatient but I'm good at my job" she said turned once back to the scroll once more."Just no good with translating ancient Babylonian, …you?"  
  
"A natural, shame how I'm in no way compelled to help you with that" Willow replied sharply.  
  
"Oh come on, I'll let you in on a cut of the spoils"  
  
"I don't want a cut, and your not leaving here with that orb…its priceless and needed"  
  
" Yeah by a guy in china who's going to pay me exorbitant amounts of money for fencing it for him, sorry sweetie but witchcraft or no your not getting your dainty little lady loving fingers anywhere near my orb" getting to her feet.  
  
" You really have no clue who your dealing with do you?" Willow mused at the woman's ignorance.  
  
" I think its you who has no idea, you saw what I did to little miss wanna pummel right? I wasn't even trying, by the time you get halfway across this room you'll be half way to well done, back off"  
  
"Oh please I crap better electricity than that"  
  
"You sound confident"  
  
"I am"  
  
"Lets go then"  
  
And with that Gwen let the power surge from her wrists. It jumped at speed in Willows direction, she calmly flicked her wrist and it fizzled out  
  
"Come on now, your not even trying" Willows arrogance apparent.  
  
Gwen tried again, and failed. Again.  
  
"I'm sensing one trick pony syndrome here" willow taunted

"...Ah well" Gwen said pacing over to her backpack" looks like I'm going to have to kick your ass the old fashioned way. With more of a 'hands on' approach"  
  
She picked up her pack and threw it at Willow, catching her off guard. It hit her in the face disorientating her allowing Gwen to not only get close enough to give her a roundhouse kick to the other side of her face but smack her around a couple more times before Willow grabbed her arm.  
  
What Willow felt now was heat, burning searing heat moving up from her fingertips and engulfing her entire body. She was burning from skin right down to the bone.   
  
"Wrong move" Gwen said feeling the witch's turmoil.  
  
Gwen let go. Any power she had been restraining was unleashed , Willow sparked and was tossed like a rag doll across the tomb, hitting the wall and as she connected it echoed and as she fell to the ground an echo sounded again. The shock should have been fatal…but Willow was far from dead.   
  
"I did warn you", Gwen walked over to her sack, put it back over her shoulder. And strolled over to the plinth where the orb lay, she picked it up admiring it and placed it securely into her bag. Turning she found an angry Willow behind her. Her hair up on end and smoking at the tips, her eyes black with fury.  
  
" What the hell does it take to kill you?"   
  
Willow held out her palm and the orb materialized into it. Gwen was allowed to flash an angry expression before Willow with her other hand smacked Gwen across the room sending her an equally impressive distance as she had thrown her. Willow summoned her bag across the room and placed orb securely into it.  
  
" Oh your going to regret that, " Gwen said wiping the blood from her nose as she picked herself up  
  
"Why? Because you're the bastard child of thor? Big whoop, your veins flow with electricity. Whose don't?"  
  
Willow let her fingertips spark.  
  
" You want to see real power, I mean I don't usually enact on humans but for you I'll make an exception you did try to kill me and my girlfriend I think I owe you a little pain for that"  
  
Gwen pulled a whip from her belt, it was made of aluminium she cracked it viciously at Willow, it sparked with electricity  
  
"So do your worst" she taunted.  
  
Willow began to mutter under her breath as Gwen encircled her, cracking the whip.   
  
It began to writhe uncontrollably in her hand, flailing and hissing cracking back on her licking at her like a serpent. Gwen dropped it as it lunged for her. It began to spasm and trans-mutate on the floor, it grew a face and began to hiss, its metal scales and teeth glinting in the dim light of the tomb. It crawled over to Willow And coiled up beside her feet. Willow flashed her hand across her face, and as it passed her hair retuned to normal and the char marks were gone and her eyes were hazel once more.. Gwen looked annoyed.  
  
"Now" she said pacing closer

"What to do with you?…I know" . Gwen felt her oesophagus becoming tight, she was finding it hard to breathe. Willow

gestured her hand and Gwen was dragged back to the wall. . She felt a release on her throat but she was pinned to the wall, Willow motioned her hand upwards and Gwen's body responded by flying upwards and stopping roughly half way.  
  
Willow, happy, began to walk away  
  
"You can't just leave me up here!"  
  
She turned to face Gwen.  
  
"Oh that's exactly what I plan to do…well until I get this to where it belongs, don't worry you just sit tight I'll see myself out"  
  
"Where that belongs is here she witch" roared a hoarse voice..  
  
Willow turned to see a massive stone spider bellowing down at her, its legs forged from the same beige stone that the temple was built from. She managed to shudder before it knocked her into the wall rendering her unconscious. Causing Gwen to not only fall from where she had been held but to land right in view of the giant spider, it lunged towards her but she jumped, up and onto its sandy stone body and off over the other side. Flakes of ancient stone crumbling off as she leapt. Her feet hit the floor as she spun round to face her attacker. The spider threw it's self up the far wall which she had been held on and flipped over so it was facing her,  
  
"You also tried to steal crones riches, your life shall be forfeit" it seethed with anger.  
  
"Really?" she questioned and let rip with the electricity. It hit him, a few rock like pebbles crumbling off .  
  
Laughing at her attempt to damage it the guardian laughed.   
  
" I am forged from stone, your power is useless. You dare to venture in where to a place where non have returned from this proves you are foolish human!"  
  
Crawling closer to her she tried again and again, each time a few more pieces crumbled away. Its front legs waving at her, she moved back and continued in vain to damage it until she felt the opposite wall at her back, she was trapped. Pinning her to the wall , it opened its jaws revealing gleaming onyx incisors, sharper than steel blades but equally as sparkling, they lustfully dripped as it moved in for the kill. Gwen for the first time in a long time let out a squeal. As she did that the beast was thrown across the tomb knocking over the plinth and rolling over on its back, there floated Willow her eyes black once more and here face bearing a pissed off expression, Gwen was breathing heavily. She looked up at Willow who floated over to here she was to check she was ok.  
  
"Your handy in a tight spot"  
  
"Yeah well he pissed me off, plus look" she said pointing at her head

"It gave me concussion"Gwen flashed a smile at the witch."What do we do with him?" she asked watching the giant stone spider flailing on its back hissing and cursing in ancient

Babylonian.  
  
"Leave it to flail, I'll be long gone"  
  
Gwen was just about to argue about how she was taking the orb when they were both thrown back as an almighty amber light began to form and froth where they had stood. From within it a dark figure stepped out.   
  
Gwen looked up at the figure, she knew him. Getting to her feet she spoke.  
  
"Charles?" she asked  
  
"Gunn!" Willow echoed also clambering to her feet  
  
Looking at each other they said in sync "You know him?"  
  
Then looking at Gunn they both chimed at the same time "You know her?"

"One question at a time ladies, first being what the hell is that scary ass spider thing behind you?"  
  
They both turned to look. While they had conversed it had managed to crawl up and was now positioned on the wall behind, hissing it leapt for Willow  
  
"Witch!!" she dodged its attack and it flew knocking Gunn over, spinning around to face her again it charged for her, this time she was ready she summoned a fire ball into her palm and flung it at the spider, chipping away its face and causing it to slide back in pain. Its face had caved in and now all that was visible through the cracks were its razor-sharp teeth . It hissed in pain, Gwen skipping past it grabbed her whip from the floor uncoiled it and began cracking the whip on its back chunks of rock flying off, its spun to face Gwen, those all too familiar teeth gleaming through the cracks. Willow meanwhile had reached into her backpack and pulled out a tiny sack of dust. As Gwen whipped at its face fiercely keeping it distracted, she pulled out the dust and began to sprinkle it over the gargantuan spider, chanting in Latin . It closed in on Gwen again, landslides of rock cascading down it face. Willow stopped mid chant, clapped her hands and shouted  
  
"Discate!"  
  
The spider hissed and was gone.  
  
"What the hell did you do to it?"  
  
"Teleportation spell," willow answered  
  
"Nice"  
  
"Damn and damn, you ladies know how to deal out some serious whoop ass I almost feel sorry for spidy" said Gunn dusting off his clothes and pacing towards the girls.  
  
"He had it coming" Gwen assured  
  
" He gave me concussion" Willow whined, pointing to the bruise on her forehead.  
  
" So Charles, what brings you out here? Just testing your new crystal thing or whatever? And how the hell do you know Sabrina the teenage witch here ?"   
  
Willow turned to Gwen and glared, Gwen returned the look. Gunn trying to break the hostility answered Gwen's question.  
  
" Well I was here for Willow, but now I find you here I could use both your help"  
  
"Willow? that's your name? …are you sure you don't have hairy legs?"  
  
"Look if you want me to pin you to the wall again, just keep on talking"  
  
Gunn stepped between the two who were inching closer like they were about to go another round or two.  
  
"Erm ladies…kinda in a hurry here, I need you to come with me…I'll explain when we get there"  
  
"Just like that? Forget it Charles"   
  
"Yeah although I hate to agree with her, I cant just drop everything and leave." Willow added, pausing for a second"Oh god its not Angel isn't, you didn't take out his soul again?….what did I tell you about calling me first before you did

that!"  
  
" No Angel's not…well currently evil I need you to trust me on this, its big in an apocalyptic way and not just some run of the mill hell's come to play, demons, mayhem…rats in the pipe work. this is it. The final battle, good vs. evil. time to step up or stand down its your decision but would you hurry up and make it because we only have so much time and we have to get back"  
  
"Where are we going? Willow asked  
  
"L.A."  
  
" There's an apocalypse in L.A?"   
  
"Again?" Gwen stated   
  
"Well among other things yes,"  
  
Willow mulled it over for a few seconds before answering him.  
  
"Ok I'm in, not sure if I can help but I'll do all I can. Could we stop off at the hospital? I have to check in on Kennedy"  
  
"Kennedy?" Gunn asked her.  
  
"Her girlfriend.."   
  
Willow scowled at Gwen again.  
  
"My girlfriend" she confirmed  
  
"Not a problem but we have to be fast, Gwen are you in?"  
  
"Well if she's going I'm going she has my orb and she's not getting away with it that easily, plus I could use some action"  
  
"Then lets go" Gunn said holding up an amber crystal  
  
Gwen looked blankly

"Wow…that was random"" Oh my god, a draconian channelling stone" Willow said approaching Gunn, excitement in her voice  
  
"Okay not so random…check out the wiccan fan girl".  
  
"You speak words to the stone and it takes you wherever you desire…where did you get this?" Willow inquired.  
  
"Long story, which I'll explain on the way…now really we have to go."  
  
"Hold on got one last thing to do…" she said searching the floor for a rock. Satisfied she picked it up  
  
"What's that for?" came a question from Gwen.  
  
" That spell didn't kill the guardian, it just teleported him somewhere else. I'm going to put a glamour on this stone so it looks like crone's orb the guardian will be satisfied and wont come looking for us"  
  
She began to encircle the rock with her hand. As she did so it began to slowly change shape, its jagged edges made smooth and its broken circular shape was now totally spherical until gradually it looked identical to the one in Willows bag.  
  
"There" she said placing onto the pile of rubble where the plinth once was. She turned and looked at Gunn. She held out her hand and Gunn placed the crystal into it.  
  
"Now lets get going"

A/N: well that was it, ok I know I promised you all Wesley and Spike but I had an idea and went off on a tangent. I can guarantee spike next chapter and only hope to bring you some wes action. But he isn't going to rot down there so don't worry. let me know what you think about the additions of Gwen and willow, and sorry it was so long. Til next time.

Chris.

p.s also thank you all for your reviews, they have all been really encouraging and much appreciated.


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